Lowell Gilbertson’s small acrylic paintings and monotypes depict an alternate universe where familiar biblical stories are retold with a cast of all female characters.

Every Subject a New Obsession:

The Avid Lens of Giovanni Lunardi

Featuring 12 black and white photographs from the past 50 years by this renowned photographer.

Opening reception for all four exhibits is
Thursday, August 31, 5-7 p.m.

(Sarasota, FL) Art Center Sarasota’s 2016-2017 exhibition season, entitled “Common Ground,” continues with four new exhibits. “Thin Spaces,” in Gallery One, features work by Carol Prusa; “World Without Men,” in Gallery Two, features work by Lowell Gilbertson; “Every Subject a New Obsession: The Avid Lens of Giovanni Lunardi,” in Gallery Three, features work by this Sarasota-based, renowned photographer. “Line, Form & Color,” in Gallery Four, is an open, all-media, all-subject, peer-juried exhibition. The opening reception for all four exhibits is Thursday, August 31, 5-7 p.m. Art Center Sarasota is located at 707 N. Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. For more information, call 941-365-2032 or visit www.artsarasota.org.

Carol Prusa is known for her large-scale silverpoint drawings on 2D and 3D surfaces. In “Thin Spaces,” the artist says she explores models “developed to explain our universe—ancient and contemporary. My constructed worlds are provocative symbols that invoke the idea of the universe and physical objects that allude to real-life structures.” These pre-industrial craft methods of silverpoint and metal leafing are heightened with white paint, and surfaces are articulated to create liminal skins between known and unknown. “These thresholds express my sense of euphoria when glimpsing the interconnectedness that surrounds and binds. I look to mathematicians and scientists for grand theories and poets for the language to express the strangeness of what is possible,” she says. Prusa’s work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City; the Perez Art Museum in Miami; and the Arkansas Arts Center, among others.

Lowell Gilbertson calls his artwork “modern realism” and says that the subjects of his paintings are like characters in a play. “World Without Men” retells familiar biblical stories with an all-female cast of characters. From Adamina and Eve to Mosea (who is discovered by the Pharaoh’s personal assistant) to Christine, Daughter of God, the retold stories tell of and passion and strength. Most of the action in these paintings and prints takes place on Siesta Key Beach. Salome dances with St. Joan the Southern Baptist at the drum circle. Gilbertson uses acrylic paints that are shipped from Florence, Italy, and made by the Zecchi family who prepare the paint using recipes that are hundreds of years old. The exhibit also includes monotypes, depicting characters such as Queen Davida and Susanna and the Elders in the World Without Men.

For more than half a century, photographer Giovanni Lunardi has turned his camera towards life, capturing an explosive range of subjects from his native home of Parma, Italy, to the sunlit shores of Sarasota. “Every Subject a New Obsession: The Avid Lens of Giovanni Lunardi,” an exhibition curated by Dustin Juengel and Nathan Skiles, features 12 black and white photographs from the past 50 years, including candid street photographs, fashion shots, and landscapes. Lunardi’s passion for photography developed through candid snapshots to masterfully orchestrated photoshoots and meticulously arranged collages. “It’s hard not to be impressed by the breadth of Lunardi’s studio practice; his pursuit of the work has lead him in many directions,” says Skiles. “But what caught our eye were his black and white photographs of Italy, where an understated subject conveyed hidden depths. Never lost in a moment, Lunardi is engaged at the highest level.”

“Unlimited Potential,” in Gallery Four, is an Art Center Sarasota open, all-media, all-subject, peer-juried exhibition in which the participating artists jury each other.

For more information about Art Center Sarasota, call 941-365-2032 or visit www.artsarasota.org.

About Art Center Sarasota

Art Center Sarasota was the first arts and cultural institution in Sarasota. It was founded in 1926 as the “Sarasota Art Association” by Marcia Rader, the art supervisor for the Sarasota County schools district. In the early years, the group met monthly and sponsored exhibits in rented facilities. The Association was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1943 and has been in its current location in the Sarasota Bayfront Cultural District since 1949. Art Center Sarasota is now a membership-based organization that offers curated and juried exhibitions, adult and youth education programs, outreach initiatives for underserved youth, and culturally related public programming. Art Center Sarasota’s mission is to inspire individual creative expression, nurture artistic talent and provide the community with accessible and diverse visual art opportunities.